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Chicago-area Tesla charging stations lined with dead cars in freezing cold

foxbusiness.com

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Re: Chicago-area Tesla charging stations lined with dead cars in freezing cold

#11

Post by jjulius »

chrisjj wrote: post #2

"Like any new technology, there’s a learning curve for people," said Mark Bilek of the Chicago Auto Trade Association. Yup. Learn not to trust EVs.

>Learn not to trust EVs.

This is a specific issue with the charging station these people were trying to charge at. The article makes very clear that the cars were towed to a functional charging station. Edit: As pointed out by someone else, this is functionally no different than a gas station's pumps freezing themselves out of operation.

Take this for what it's worth, but it feels like your comment was written flippantly and with a deep-seated bias.

Re: Chicago-area Tesla charging stations lined with dead cars in freezing cold

#12

Post by supportengineer »

rngname22 wrote: post #8

This is where a hybrid powertrain / PHEV is superior to EV. In an ideal system you want redundancies, especially redundancies that cover for each other's weaknesses.

Not just a hybrid but a series-type hybrid. Electric motors drive the wheels and the gas engine is just there to generate electricity.

At every level of society I see products being designed for the "best case" only. For example, unlocking your car with electronic keys.

I am afraid a generation will have to live through "hard times" in order to get us thinking about resilience again and planning for the "worst case".

When looking at vehicles, it's a fun thought experiment to ask yourself if you would want this vehicle during a "zombie apocalypse"

Re: Chicago-area Tesla charging stations lined with dead cars in freezing cold

#13

Post by MattGrommes »

A friend hypothesized that a lot of Tesla drivers charge the same way they refilled their gas cars, by waiting until the last minute and supercharging back up to "full". This doesn't work when it's so cold so people need to learn to charge a little at a time.

Re: Chicago-area Tesla charging stations lined with dead cars in freezing cold

#15

Post by bryanlarsen »

chrisjj wrote: post #2

"Like any new technology, there’s a learning curve for people," said Mark Bilek of the Chicago Auto Trade Association. Yup. Learn not to trust EVs.

Frozen gas station pumps is also relatively common, and a similar situation.

Re: Chicago-area Tesla charging stations lined with dead cars in freezing cold

#16

Post by robertlagrant »

supportengineer wrote: post #12
rngname22 wrote: post #8

This is where a hybrid powertrain / PHEV is superior to EV. In an ideal system you want redundancies, especially redundancies that cover for each other's weaknesses.

Not just a hybrid but a series-type hybrid. Electric motors drive the wheels and the gas engine is just there to generate electricity. At every level of society I see products being designed for the "best case" only. For example, unlocking your car with electronic keys. I am afraid a generation will have to live through "hard times" in order to get us thinking about resilience again and planning for the "worst case".…

> When looking at vehicles, it's a fun thought experiment to ask yourself if you would want this vehicle during a "zombie apocalypse"

It's fun, but not useful. I want a solar powered Humvee in a zombie apocalypse.

Re: Chicago-area Tesla charging stations lined with dead cars in freezing cold

#18

Post by SideburnsOfDoom »

dmitrygr wrote: post #10
LanceJones wrote: post #5

[flagged]

If you have concerns about the veracity of the story, state them and cite your sources. Your assumptions and derisive tone, otherwise, have no place here.

It looks as if other commenters have already done so.

There is definitely a push to get out more negative stories about EVs at present. This here is one of them. You might regard it as the "then they fight you" phase.

Re: Chicago-area Tesla charging stations lined with dead cars in freezing cold

#19

Post by prometheus76 »

doctoboggan wrote: post #14

My sister lives in Chicago and her ICE car also won't start due to the extreme low temperatures. The Canadians solved this problem by having resistive heat elements installed in their engine, I think EVs probably need the same.

heat lamp under the car and a tarp over the hood.

Re: Chicago-area Tesla charging stations lined with dead cars in freezing cold

#20

Post by Finnucane »

doctoboggan wrote: post #14

My sister lives in Chicago and her ICE car also won't start due to the extreme low temperatures. The Canadians solved this problem by having resistive heat elements installed in their engine, I think EVs probably need the same.

I learned to drive on a 1976 VW Rabbit diesel. We had a block heater for it, and in the winter, we had to plug it in to warm it up. You'd think there'd be some way to do that for EVs.
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